I recently visited Venice for a few days last month and had a wonderful time. While, others have posted beautiful photos of the city, I thought it might be interesting to post photos of the boats that allow the city to function. I was fascinated to see the kinds of boats that are used for work purposes around the city: boat shop for vegetables, boat ambulance, boat for building construction and boats for garbage pickup.
Since I have received so much value from this subreddit, I thought I would pay it back by posting a trip report.
We just got back from a trip to northern Italy. This was the first trip to Italy for my wife and me. We are in our 60s and have visited many countries but, somehow never made it to Italy until now. Why start with northern Italy? I had a colleague at work who was originally from Bologna and he highly recommended we visit the city. We plan to visit Rome, Florence and Sicily in future trips.
Itinerary: Milan 3 nights, Venice 3 nights, Bologna 3 nights. We were able to cover most of what we wanted but a few additional days would have been even better.
Saturday: Reached Malpensa in the morning. Thankfully, EES was working well so we were able to clear immigration in just 15 minutes. We stayed at a hotel located near Piazza della Repubblica. This is an excellent location as numerous restaurants are walking distance. Also, a major tram stop and Metro station are very close by.
We traveled everywhere in Milan on trams and Metro. I especially loved riding in the old trams that work some of the lines - was great to see how well they are maintained. Using Milan public transit is exceptionally easy with tap-to-pay. I used my Apple Watch everywhere for payments. In fact, we spent only €5 in cash in the entire trip.
Went on a guided tour (using GetYourGuide) to the Last Supper since I was unable to book tickets directly from the diocese. However, the tour guide was good and we were able to view the painting without being rushed. After viewing the painting, we did a short walking tour of Sforza Castle with the guide. Had a minor adventure on the way back as Metro trains were skipping the Domo station due to farmer protests. We got off in San Babila and walked to our hotel. A convoy of tractors from the protest passed us as we were walking.
Sunday: Visited the Domo Terraces (advance ticket bought one week in advance) as soon as it opened and enjoyed views of the city and the splendid architecture of the cathedral. To our pleasant surprise, we also got to the see the Sunday mass in the Domo. I did not realize that the terrace ticket also allowed us to enter the cathedral. Visited the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. I thoroughly enjoyed this museum and could have easily spent a whole day there. There is a large exhibit of trains and boats as well.
Monday: Since most museums are closed on Mondays, I found some nice alternatives. walked around Giardini Indro Montanelli, visited the Scala Museum and then walked around the Brera district. The famous Milan Design Week had just started so it was fun to see elegant people going from gallery to gallery.
Checked out of the hotel in the afternoon and took the Metro one stop to Milano Centrale. I should note that Milano Centrale was very crowded and it is necessary to use the ticket QR code to enter the platforms. If you want to have something to eat, you need to do so before entering the platform. There is a mezzanine level with restaurants which offers a nice view of the trains.
I did all my train bookings using the Trenitalia app which I found to be exceptionally easy to use. I booked all of our tickets six weeks in advance in business class. Base fare tickets can be changed without fee but as it happed, there was no need for that. The 2.5 hour train journey from Milan to Venice Santa Lucia on a Frecciarossa was very scenic with views of Lake Garda. We were served a small snack at our seat.
Took a water taxi from the station to our hotel in Venice, which was conveniently located near the San Zaccaria docks. This turned out to be an excellent location since direct water bus service (run by ACTV) is available to all parts of Venice. Also St Mark’s square is very close by.
Tuesday: Took a guided tour of the Basilica and Doge’s palace. Visited an exhibition of Murano glass on Isola di san Giorgio Maggiore (the campanile on San Giorgio is currently closed) and then walked around the area near Accademia. Later in the afternoon we visited the Correr museum.
Wednesday: Took an ACTV boat to Murano and visited several glass factories. In my opinion, this is a must-see item. Continued on to Burano and visited the lace making museum. Had a delightful lunch at an outdoor restaurant on Burano. Took a long direct boat ride back to hotel. Walked around more in Dorsoduro where I had made dinner reservations in an elegant restaurant.
Thursday: Went up the Campanile tower in St Marks and enjoyed views of the city. Walked to the Arsenale di Venezia. Sadly said goodbye to Venice in the afternoon and took a water taxi to Santa Lucia station. Took a Frecciarossa to Bologna Centrale, a short but interesting 90 minute ride. Took a cab from Bologna Centrale to our hotel, which was located close to Piazza Maggiore.
I immediately fell in love with Bologna - lots of young people attending the university so it is a very lively place with hundreds of restaurants. We climbed up the clock tower in Pallazo d’Accursio and visited the municipal art museum (Collezioni Communal D’Arte)
I made dinner reservations for all three nights we were in Bologna and all three meals were excellent. I should mention that my wife is a vegetarian but, even so, I had no trouble finding good restaurants that worked of both of us.
Friday: Went on a fun tour of a parmesan cheese factory and an artisanal Balsamic vinegar factory. We were picked up from Bologna Centrale in a van and had a nice time seeing the countryside. A few snacks were provided as a part of the tour. After the tour, we rested and walked around Bologna university. Visited the national art gallery (Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna). This gallery is an absolute gem and is also a must-visit spot in Bologna.
Saturday: Took a regional train run by TPER to Ravenna. It’s a short 70 minute train ride through the beautiful Emilia Romagna countryside. We just barely made it in time for our timed entry to the Mausoleum of Galla Palacidia and then the Basilica of San Vitale. The superb Museo Nazionale di Ravenna is in the same complex so we spent an hour there. I realized at this point that I had made a mistake by selecting a timed entry for Battistero Neoniano too soon after Galla Placida so there was not enough time to reach it. Instead, we had lunch a delightful open-air restaurant in the area and then went to see Basilica di San Apollinare. We returned to Bologna without any problem. The local trains were clean and ran on time.
Sunday: Visited the Archeological Museum of Bologna and the Museo Civico Medieval - both are excellent museums well worth the time. Bologna has an amazingly rich history. After lunch, took a Frecciarossa to Milano Centrale and then immediately caught the Malpensa Express to the airport. I had booked a through ticket from Bologna to Malpensa using the Trenitalia app which gave me the QR codes for both segments.
The platform used by the Malpensa Express at Milano Centrale is very narrow so access is regulated. There was a huge crowd waiting to board the train but thankfully, we got seats without any problem.
For our final night, I had booked a room for us at the Sheraton at the airport which can be directly accessed from the MPX terminal 1 station by elevator - very convenient! We left for home the next morning. Again, thankfully outbound immigration was very quick as EES was working well. A wonderful trip overall - nothing went wrong and we had a great time everywhere.